July of last year, I asked one of my advisors if I should apply to institutions like Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) or BCRP or Cincinnati for my upcoming residency application cycle. And he looked at me and said: “Historically, people from Tulane do not match to CHOP or BCRP. And quite frankly, you aren’t junior AOA, so…if you wanna spend the money, I won’t stop you. But I just want you to be informed.” I talked to my parents and they were definitive: don’t change your list of schools. Don’t let your “advisor” limit you.

25 applications, 25 interview invites, 16 interviews, 28 flights, 14 hours of road trips, and 3 train rides later: I matched. I’m going to be a intern at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, my first choice. The first choice that I ranked cautiously and with a guarded heart. I literally ugly cried all morning y’all – it was disgusting.

Today I am grateful to my parents for believing in me when I could not. Today I am grateful to my sister and brother for being my never-ending emotional support. Today I am grateful to my friends who comforted me, encouraged me, called me when I was on my way to interviews, and talked me out of all the crazy self-deprecating things that I said as the stress of this interview season caught up to me.

Some people see Match Day as the success of an individual. I don’t. I fully recognize that I could not have done this without all of you. Thank you for the love and support. We did it! We’re heading to Philadelphia!